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Section240
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Giving false information respecting an offence committed

In force From 01 Jul 2024 Act 45 of 2023 As on 14 Oct 2026

Act 45 of 2023 Ministry Home Affairs Enacted 25 Dec 2023 In force 01 Jul 2024 Cited by 1 provision

Section 240 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 deals with giving false information respecting an offence committed. Whoever, knowing or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed, gives any information respecting that offence which he knows or believes to be false, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both. The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.

Whoever, knowing or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed, gives any information respecting that offence which he knows or believes to be false, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

Explanation.—In sections 238 and 239 and in this section the word "offence" includes any act committed at any place out of India, which, if committed in India, would be punishable under any of the following sections, namely, 103, 105, 307, sub-sections (2), (3) and (4) of section 309, sub-sections (2), (3), (4) and (5) of section 310, 311, 312, clauses (f) and (g) of section 326, sub-sections (4), (6), (7) and (8) of section 331, clauses (a) and (b) of section 332.

Section 240, The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act 45 of 2023).

Replaces a provision of the Indian Penal Code

IPC 203 Giving false information respecting an offence committed Text carried over almost unchanged 95%

Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.

Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

This section refers to

  1. s. 238 Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender
  2. s. 239 Intentional omission to give information of offence by person bound to inform
  3. s. 309 Robbery
  4. s. 310 Dacoity
  5. s. 311 Robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt
  6. s. 312 Attempt to commit robbery or dacoity when armed with deadly weapon
  7. s. 326 Mischief by injury, inundation, fire or explosive substance, etc
  8. s. 331 Punishment for house-trespass or house-breaking
  9. s. 332 House-trespass in order to commit offence

Referred to by 1

  1. s. 2 Definitions

How this offence is classified

From the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which classifies every offence under the Sanhita. Cognizable means a police officer may arrest without warrant; bailable means bail is a matter of right rather than of the court's discretion.

OffencePunishment CognizableBailableTriable by
Giving false information respecting an offence committed. Imprisonment for 2 years, or fine, or both. Non-cognizable. Bailable. Any Magistrate.

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Related judgements & precedents

These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.

  1. Manik vs The State of Maharashtra Home Department Secretary

    Supreme Court of India 25 Sep 2024 Persuasive (Supreme Court - Split Opinion) Reportable 2024 INSC 734

    Decided under Indian Penal Code 203, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    When a dead body is recovered and subjected to autopsy and necrotomic evidence is adduced to establish cause of death, failure to prove that the dead body is of the person allegedly murdered by the accused must have fatal and adverse consequence on the prosecution case. The case of an untraceable dead body is different from a case where the dead body is traced and evidence is adduced to prove the identity of the deceased. In the latter case, upon failure to prove identity, the prosecution cannot be permitted to advance a case that the dead body is untraceable. However, this principle applies only when the prosecution itself has put forth the case that the dead body was recovered. In such circumstances, when once identification of the dead body as that of the alleged victim based on fingerprint test is reversed by the High Court, in the absence of appeal by the State or the victim, it cannot be said that the dead body is that of the alleged victim, either for holding the accused guilty of murder under Section 302 IPC or under Section 304 IPC. (Justice C.T. Ravikumar's view, which represents the majority position on this specific issue)

    On this section: Giving false information to public servant; conviction set aside

    Read the full order on eCourts India

The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.

Questions about Section 240

What have the courts held on Section 240 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita?

Manik vs The State of Maharashtra Home Department Secretary (25 Sep 2024) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under IPC 203, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Giving false information to public servant; conviction set aside.

Is Section 240 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita bailable?

Bailable, under the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

Is Section 240 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita cognizable?

Non-cognizable. "Cognizable" means a police officer may arrest without warrant; "non-cognizable" that they may not. An offence under this section is triable by Any Magistrate.

How do I find court cases under Section 240 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: BNS 240, section 240 BNS, section 240 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. People searching for it also type 240 bns in ipc. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Manik vs The State of Maharashtra Home Department Secretary (25 Sep 2024).

What should I read with Section 240 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 238 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), section 239 (Intentional omission to give information of offence by person bound to inform), section 309 (Robbery), section 310 (Dacoity), and on 5 further provisions, so none of them can safely be read on its own. 1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. It carries forward IPC 203 (Giving false information respecting an offence committed), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.

When did Section 240 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita come into force?

Section 240 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, cited as BNS 240, came into force on 01 Jul 2024, having been enacted on 25 Dec 2023. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.